The game seemed all but over when Billy Wagner took the mound in the top of the ninth, but the normally dominant closer couldn't seal the deal. Wagner allowed a home run to Scott Hairst, a single to Jerry Hairston Jr., and a double to Yorvit Torrealba as the Padres scored two in the ninth to send it to extras.
The Padres bullpen was impressive, as expected. Their 'pen threw seven shutout innings as Tim Stauffer picked up his third win (3-1) and Heath Bell earned his 27th save, tops in the majors.
Jon Garland allowed four runs in the third inning thanks to four straight hits by the Braves, including a home run by Brian McCann and a two RBI single from Chipper Jones. The Braves didn't muster up any offense other than that inning, but Jason Heyward, Alex Gonzalez, and McCann each had two hits.
Tommy Hanson was struggling for the first three innings but managed to allow just two first inning runs. He ended up throwing 6.1 innings, striking out five, walking two, and hitting two batters. Jonny Venters followed Hanson up with 1.2 innings and two strikeouts, setting it up nicely for Wagner.
Kris Medlen tried to extend the ballgame in the twelfth but gave up two runs on a Nick Hundley double. Someone was going to score eventually, and unfortunately it was the Padres.
This was definitely a tough loss, but the Braves can still come away with a series victory with a good outing by Tim Hudson (9-5, 2.60 ERA, 4.34 FIP, 4.25 xFIP). Opposing Huddy will be lefty Clayton Richard (7-4, 3.53 ERA, 3.69 FIP, 4.00 xFIP).